Better to live close to work, or far away?

Status
Not open for further replies.
I dunno, I'm kinda dragging as it is when I get home. Up at 6, leave about 6:30, home at 6, dinner and homework and the first off to bed at 8, get some exercise, shower, and whaddya know, it's 9pm. Sometimes I have the drive to do something for an hour, often I don't.

Tempting to do 10 hour days for that three day weekend, but, for me at this stage of life, I think it'd cut too much into family time. I did do an extra hour/day, 4 days/week, in order to get fri afternoons off this summer; that was nice, but had me up at 5 to pull it off.
 
Id never live in the city. I live 6.5 miles from work but i live in the edge of the sanbernardino national forest on 10 acres. I have a mile long dirt road to go up to get home and no neighbors to speak of.
 
On one hand, my house is sized such that it'd make a decent sized house for after the kids leave. OTOH if I had bought larger I could sell it for a smaller one that is more off the beaten path when I retire--pocketing the increase in value and downsizing at the same time.

Hard call: size the house for what you think you'll need while raising kids, or buy with the anticipation of moving every say 10-ish years? Don't need a big house after getting married (probably can't afford it anyhow), need it when the kids get to a certain size, and are wasting money on it after they leave.
 
Depends where close is
smile.gif


Personally I think people who work close are generally happier/healthier than those who commute. Short commute folks have more time to do things like workout, attend kids games, pursue hobbies/sports, volunteering etc. Commuting(45mins -1hr) is an expensive endeavor in cost per mile.

My wife commutes 3days/week 35miles in 45 minutes each way. Winter conditions turns that into 1-2.5hrs each way. It wears on her. However she gets paid Boston rates and only has to work 20hrs to get full incredible benefits.
 
Originally Posted By: rjundi
Depends where close is
smile.gif


Personally I think people who work close are generally happier/healthier than those who commute. Short commute folks have more time to do things like workout, attend kids games, pursue hobbies/sports, volunteering etc. Commuting(45mins -1hr) is an expensive endeavor in cost per mile.

I agree, I'll probably have to shift my work hours ahead abit to make it home for 5 so we can do some kids sports stuff when the time comes. I have to do nightly chores anyways so its a bit of exercise everyday.
What's funny though, is driving to a site for work an hour each way is very enjoyable! Once or twice a week I get out of the office and its great, partially becauase of the $0.48/km, but just driving in the middle of the day seems more fun.
 
No traffic makes it fun. At least less stress. And during this time of year it's nice to see sunlight too.

That said, I never seem to mind catching the tail end of rush hour; traffic is moving along and you can go with the flow. And the traffic peters out after an hour, and I find I can settle down with the flow. Nice when the sun goes down and is out of my eyes; having other traffic on the road means it's pretty unlikely to hit critters.

Driving down 93 during rush hour can be fun; nothing like doing 10 over in the break-down lane. At least not until you get off onto 495 and it's a parking lot.
 
Last edited:
Put me down in closer is better camp. Of course you can't always change your house every time you change jobs.

One thing no one mentions is the flexibility it give you in your ride. I live about four miles from work. I can drive any type of vehicle I want. Good MPG, poor MPG, new, old, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter much how reliable it is. If it can start I can get to work and I can put off that repair to the electric window until next pay day. During the summer, I bicycle commute some. Save loads of money on gym fees.

The next best thing to an easy commute is a neighborhood where you can do your errands on foot. I once lived in one of those. It was entirely by accident. I didn't realize the nearby strip mall had everything I needed until after I moved in. I used to have entire weekends where I wouldn't touch my car. Very relaxing.
 
30 minutes is my absolute limit for commuting. That time around here gets you about 12-15 miles. I've been lucky that my two "big boy" jobs have been less than that limit.

Before buying this house, I did a quick analysis of living in a community ~25-30 miles away from my office. When I figured out costs (fuel, tolls, wear and tear, real estate and income taxes) and time, the only real difference came out to be time.

So I'll enjoy my 10.5 mile commute to my four day work week, thank you. My daily driver has never cracked 9k in miles in any year. That's pretty nice.
 
I get to cheat. I live at my business, which is a farm and trucking operation in Central Iowa. I don't commute at all, except to walk out the door and go to work. I know that is cheating somewhat, and not doable for most folks. But living rural and being in business for yourself does have some advantages now and again.
 
Originally Posted By: rjundi
Personally I think people who work close are generally happier/healthier than those who commute.

Studies have shown commutes stress people & short commutes make them happier overall.

I guess my ex-boss was correct to have her short 5 mile commute vs. my 45 mile trip.
smile.gif
 
Close, the place I'm moving to next year puts me within walking distance of my boat, friends house, and favorite bar. I don't plan on driving most weekends.

My furthest properties are 6-7 miles away, and that's about as far as I want to go.

I don't know how some people drive 100 miles each day back and forth, that must take hours in rush hour traffic and would drive me nuts.
 
We bought the house back in '77. I'm on career number 5 since then and Marina had at least 4. Current job is to hop into the van and deliver applications for permits from building depts and Fire prevention officers. It is a really cool job. I use a map book of eastern MA. It allows me to take roads that my Tom Tom would never consider. I drive some scenic byways in SeMA and the Cape. I balance highway travel against the maze of secondary state roads. I prefer the state roads unless they are under construction. Previously , I had decades of stall and crawl traffic in and around Boston out to and beyond the US route 495 outer loop. at various times. It requires a flexible mindset, because I often travel at the whim of forces unknown. This career is fraught with the Friday afternoon follies, much as the last one was. Any building inspector with any careerist aspirations will be long gone come noon Fridays. Sales men dont realize that.
 
Well when I worked I had it made, drove a company vehicle on service calls from home and back... Discounting getting through the tunnels, wasn't often I in was in the "thick" of things, either way I got paid setting in traffic or making a repair...
 
I want to live not too close and not too far. Too close and I don't get the feeling of separating home and work, too far and the commute wears on me. This time last year I was driving 2-3 hours a day for my job, and it got old fast, even with little/no traffic and satellite radio for something to listen to. Now my commute is 35-40 minutes 1 way, mostly highway going against the flow of traffic. Since my car is optimized for highway travel, a shorter commute offers little in the way of gas savings. Add in how I pass by the places I shop on my commute, and the longer commute offers some advantages.

Also, I would not want to live in the area I work in. It was a formerly nice area, but has gone downhill. The area I live in now is a nicer-for-me area.
 
Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
My furthest properties are 6-7 miles away, and that's about as far as I want to go.

I don't know how some people drive 100 miles each day back and forth, that must take hours in rush hour traffic and would drive me nuts.


I find driving across Danbury CT far more stressing than my commute to work. I'd rather drive 60min in NH than 6min in CT!

I realize not all commutes are like mine, but I would not do mine if I wasn't able to average 50+ for the distance.
 
Stop and go is lousy, but Danbury has these narrow twisty roads that people scream on. I tried bicycling a few times before I gave up.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

A
Best Used Commuter Car?
3 4 5
Replies
92
Views
6K
panthermike
BISCUT
2014 X3 N20 2.0 Thoughts after 13k
2
Replies
28
Views
549
Marcozi
robertfixit
e85 ethanol gas in 08 Pontiac Vibe
Replies
12
Views
366
robertfixit
A
Post Covid-World work life; changes for you, or back to the same?
4 5 6
Replies
103
Views
6K
TimeFlies
C
Redline 5w-30 & WIX Filter 6.6k mi; 2021 RAM 1500 5.7L 30k mi
Replies
6
Views
264
OVERKILL
Back
Top Bottom